


Titanfall

by lokishadownerd



Series: Eldia Rising [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Armin is baby, Gender-Neutral Hange Zoë, Levi is Bad At Feelings (Shingeki no Kyojin), Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28218531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokishadownerd/pseuds/lokishadownerd
Summary: The product of diabolical government experimentation, Levi finds himself in the care of one Dr. Hope Carter after escaping his tormentors. As the government’s dark secrets are revealed, Levi pushes onward with one, singular purpose: to save the other prisoners.
Series: Eldia Rising [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2067183
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Levi is aged down because I wanted my character to be slightly older than Levi, but also closer to my own age as it makes her character easier to write.
> 
> Warning: spoilers, this series makes references to later chapters in Attack on Titan.

It was a warm, August evening and Dr. Hope Carter had nearly made it to her apartment building on the east side of the Utopia District in the Rose Province, when two arms shot out of the alley as she passed. The hand of one arm covered her mouth while the other arm curled around her neck. The unknown assailant breathed heavily as they dragged her into the dark alley, not stopping until they were out of the eyeline of anyone who might walk by.  
“Don’t… move,” a deep, masculine voice said, as the stranger pulled his hand away from her mouth. Hope had just finished a long and exhausting day, and she was in no mood for… whatever this was.  
“Look, I don’t have anything of value on me,” she said, calmly, trying to turn her head and look at the man.  
“Don’t want… your shit,” he panted.  
“Then what the hell do you want?” The man didn’t answer. Quite fed up, Hope elbowed him in the gut, though not hard enough to do any real damage -or so she thought. She wasn’t expecting the man to stumble backwards, clutching his abdomen as he let out a sound like a dying animal. *Shit, I couldn’t have hit him that hard.*  
He braced his back against the wall behind him and slid to the ground, his face twisted in pain. Hope crouched down to get a better look at him. He was… well, ‘small’ was the word that came to mind and ‘tired’ wasn’t far behind. He was maybe 160, 170 cm tall and no more than 55 kg soaking wet. He wore grey, oversized t-shirt and baggy, black sweatpants. His feet were bare. He had very pronounced dark circles under his eyes and what little of his sickly pale skin she could see was coated in a sheen of perspiration. The stains on his shirt told her he’d been sweating heavily for a while and his dark hair, styled in a curtain undercut, was clinging to his face.  
“Hey, what’s going on with you, talk to me,” she said, taking his wrist in her hand and checking his pulse, which was dangerously elevated. She opened his eyes with her thumbs and saw that his pupils were so dilated she couldn’t tell what color they were. “Shit… did you take something?”  
“N-no…” he ground out through tightly clenched teeth. Hope had trouble believing that, but she decided to humor him for now.  
“Ok, is there something you didn’t take? Are you in withdrawal?”  
“M-may… be.”  
“Okay, what do you usually take?”  
“Do… don’t… know… they… did…n’t… t-tell… me.” Hope raised an eyebrow, even in such a state, he managed a hint of sarcasm. *The fuck does he mean by that?*  
“Well, we need to get you to a hospital and do a tox screen at the very least,” she said. She was about to stand when the man grabbed her wrist with a shaking hand; even so, he had quite the grip.  
“No…. hos… hospi…tal,” he gasped.  
“Look, you’re going to die if-.”  
“NO,” he said, forcefully and then cried out in agony, letting go of her arm and curling in on himself. “P…pl…ease…” There was such a profound look of fear in his eyes, even through the pain, that Hope relented -against her better judgement.  
“Fine,” she said, “I’ll take you to my apartment.”  
He weighed more than Hope expected, and she supposed it was likely due to the toned muscle she could feel through his clothes as she draped one of his arms over her shoulder. She had little difficulty, however; she’d carried heavier people far greater distances before, not to mention she had a good 12kg and 10cm on him. She reached her apartment in good time, even with the occasional concerned stranger stopping to ask if he was all right.  
“Oh yeah, my brother just had a few too many tonight,” she’d say lightly, ensuring that no more questions would be asked. Luckily, she didn’t run into anyone she knew.  
The man’s condition had worsened by the time she got him to her couch, and Hope began to get truly worried. Her apartment was hardly equipped to deal with this sort of crisis; she would need help. She ran her fingers through her short, blonde hair and grabbed her phone, dialing the number of one of her closest friends.  
“Hey Hange,” she said, “I have a… situation.”  
“What sort of ‘situation’? Are you hurt?” They sounded concerned.  
“No, no, I’m fine,” Hope assured them, “I have someone in my apartment who needs emergency help -I think drugs might be involved- but he’s beyond terrified of going to a hospital.”  
“Gotcha, I’m on my way,” Hange said.  
“Thanks.” Hope could always count on them to save the day without asking too many questions. Dr. Hange Zoe worked in the slums of the Underground, performing medical research and treating the people there -many of whom were on all kinds of drugs; they would know what to do. Hope was skilled in many things concerning the world of medicine, but her knowledge of addictive and recreational substances paled in comparison to Hange’s. She returned to her patient, who had assumed a fetal position and was shivering violently. Hope wasn’t sure what she could do. Without knowing exactly what was going on with the man, she was reluctant to give him any medication as it might make him worse. An ice pack and cold wash cloth was about the best she could come up with to treat the fever he was clearly running. She grabbed a bag of frozen peas from her freezer -she’d probably never eat them anyway-, a couple dish cloths and a bowl of cold water. She also grabbed a bucket, just in case he needed to throw up.  
She wrapped the peas in one of the dish cloths and placed it gently onto his forehead as well as she could without moving him, then began sponging his face and neck with the cold water. As she did, he began rambling deliriously.  
“Isa…bel… get… get down… stop it… don’t… F-Furlan… get… down…” and after a minute or so: “I’m sorry…”  
Hope knew better than to try to understand what he was talking about, having heard all sorts of things from patients in the throes of fever. However, he said something that tugged harshly at her heart.  
“Mom…,” he whimpered, “W-wake… wake up…”  
“Shit,” Hope said, softly. She gently lifted his head, resting it on her lap and brushing his hair from his face. This man had to be at least in his twenties and yet, here he was, calling for his mother. At least he seems to be doing a little better, she mused. She immediately regretted the thought. Hange came through the door just in time to see Hope supporting the head of a man who was having a full-on grand mal seizure on the floor.  
They were at her side in an instant, pulling bottles and syringes from their bag. They injected the man with something and he quickly stopped seizing, though he continued to shiver. Hope sighed in relief. Together, she and Hange got the man back onto the couch, lying him on his left side.  
“What’s wrong with him?” Hope shook her head.  
“I don’t know and apparently neither does he,” she said and Hange raised a skeptical eyebrow, “I think he’s in withdrawal, but I don’t even know that for sure.” Her friend nodded.  
“Best get to work then,” they said, taking out their supplies and organizing them on Hope’s coffee table.  
“Are you going to need my help?”  
“Nah,” Hange answered, “Probably not. You could make coffee though.” The woman nodded and headed to the kitchen.  
By the time Hope returned with two steaming mugs of coffee, Hange appeared to have done all they could.  
“He’s stable and appears to be improving,” they said, “We still don’t know what he’s coming off of, so it’ll be touch and go, but he’ll hopefully be able to sleep through the worst of it. I also took some blood samples,” they continued, gesturing to a case that contained five small test tubes, “I’ll test them when I get back to the clinic. Whatever he was on has probably metabolized by now, but it wouldn’t hurt to do a tox screen just in case.”  
“Good idea,” Hope said. She handed Hange their coffee and joined them on the floor at the low table before drinking some of her own.  
“Just like old times, eh?”  
“Yeah.” Indeed, the situation was reminiscent of their military days in the Survey Corps. Many times did they enjoy tin cups of strong, black coffee after treating the injuries of countless soldiers. Hope was just glad that their reprieve likely wouldn’t be interrupted the same way it would have been back then: with another soldier being brought in, covered in blood and draped in the arms of their frantic comrade. Even Hange themself ended up in a hospital bed when a stray bullet struck them in their left eye. Hope had consumed a lot of coffee that night.  
“Mh.” Hange raised a finger as they swallowed a big gulp of coffee, “You need to see this.” They turned the man’s right arm to reveal track marks in the crook of his elbow. Hope frowned, something wasn’t right.  
“Those… don’t look like the needle marks of your average druggie,” she said, “They almost look professional.”  
“I agree, there’s some on the other arm, too,” Hange said, “Which begs the question, what medical professional did this,” they swept a hand over the sleeping man, their forehead creased in a frown, “to him? And why?” Hope shook her head, no doctor she knew would leave anyone in such a state.  
“I’d say we could ask him,” she said, “but he didn’t even seem to know why he was sick. He might not have any more answers than we do.”  
“Wouldn’t hurt to try.”  
“Wouldn’t it though? He’s been through some shit, he’s traumatized. He was calling for his mother, Hange.”  
“We might not have a choice, but I guess we can worry about that when we need to,” Hange said, “For now, let’s just get him back on his feet. His very small feet.” Hope chuckled.  
“Don’t be mean, Hange,” she said.  
“Seriously, this man is tiny.”  
“Hange.”  
“I could carry him under my arm like a sack of flour.”  
“Hange!” They snorted, trying very hard not to laugh while Hope shook her head in mock disappointment. She yawned, suddenly very tired despite the coffee.  
“You should sleep,” Hange said, “I’ll stay here and keep my eye on him.”  
“What about your-,” Hope yawned again, “Other patients?”  
“Moblit’s handling it, the dear.”  
“That man deserves a raise.”  
“Don’t I know it, unfortunately it isn’t up to me.”  
“Okay,” Hope said, finally, “I’ll go try and get some sleep.” She put emphasis on the ‘try’ given her reoccurring bouts of insomnia. She grabbed a pillow and a blanket, and tucked the man in, hopefully in such a way that he would be more comfortable. She then changed into her sleepwear, brushed her teeth and climbed into bed, and was out in minutes.  
Hope awoke to the horrible sound of gagging and ran to the living room to find the man vomiting into the bucket while Hange patted his back, awkwardly. She sighed and looked at the clock. It was 2am. Hope went to the kitchen and put the kettle on before getting a glass of water. She returned to the living room to find the man had finished throwing up and was now slumped in his seat with his head resting against the back of the couch.  
“Keep an eye on him while I clean this up,” Hange said and Hope nodded, taking her place beside the man.  
“Hey,” she said, gently, and the man turned his head lazily to stare at her with a tired, half-lidded gaze. She finally got a look at his eyes, which were gunmetal grey with blue undertones. Hope decided she liked the color.  
“Where am I?” His voice was almost too soft for her to hear.  
“My apartment,” she said, “That other person was Hange, an old military buddy of mine. They were the one who fixed you up.” The man only grunted in response. “Here,” Hope handed him the water, helping him hold it while he gulped it down. “I’m Dr. Hope Carter, by the way, I work at the Utopia General,” she said as the man burped quietly, “What can I call you?”  
“Levi,” he croaked out, “Just Levi.”  
“Okay, Levi,” Hope said, “Can you tell me how you’re feeling?”  
“Like so much shit,” Levi said, and the woman let out a quiet snort of laughter.  
“I’m going to need you to be more specific,” she said. Levi shut his eyes and groaned, bringing a hand to his forehead.  
“My head feels like it’s going to explode, my entire body hurts and my stomach feels like it just got turned inside-out,” he said.  
“All right then,” Hope said, “I’m sure Hange has something for the first two, and I’ve got some tea that should help with your stomach.” Levi seemed to perk up the tiniest bit at the woman’s mention of tea, though it was hard to tell since his blank expression hardly changed.  
Hange returned just as the kettle began to whistle and Hope left to prepare tea for the three of them. She overheard Levi say something about needing something for his ‘fucking head’ and smiled. It sounded like he was feeling better. The woman returned to the living room with two cups of black tea for herself and Hange, and one cup of lemon-ginger tea for Levi.  
The man relaxed as the hot beverage soothed his sore stomach. Hope noticed that he held his mug in an odd manner, gripping it from the top instead of from the sides, and wondered about it, but didn’t mention it.  
Levi didn’t even finish the tea before he started nodding off, which didn’t surprise either doctor. Hange had given him a pretty strong painkiller, after all. Hope took his mug before it fell to the floor and eased him down to lie back on his left side, tucking him in again.  
“Why don’t you get some sleep,” she said to Hange, “I’ll watch him.”  
“In your bed?” Hope frowned, looking at their greasy, auburn hair and dirty outfit. Hange had the unfortunate habit of forgetting to clean their clothes and take showers. At least they never failed to wash their hands.  
“Sure,” she relented, she would just have to change all of the bedding before she slept in her bed again. This was not the time to allow her anxiety to get in the way of her friend getting some rest. It was a wonder they were so close though: Hange with their subpar hygiene and Hope’s need for cleanliness due to her fear of disease. She was already having a hard time allowing the man -who was quite filthy- to sleep on her pristine, white couch. Hope sighed, she was going to have a lot of laundry to do.  
She sipped her tea, thumbing through a medical magazine that Hange had clearly been reading. She was reading an article about the effects of vitamin deficiencies in children and how it can affect them later in life, when Levi started to talk in his sleep. He was no longer delirious, so Hope wondered if he did this often or if it was a side affect of the painkillers.  
“Eren, you idiot…,” he muttered.  
“What did Eren do?” Hope was bored… and curious.  
“Nearly shoved Armin out the window…,” he answered, without waking up.  
“Oof,” she said, “Is Armin okay?”  
“No, he’s dead,” Levi said, his sleepy voice dripping with sarcasm. Hope chuckled. So, Isabel, Furlan, Eren and Armin, Hope wondered who they were. Earlier, he’d said the first two names fearfully, as if they were in danger. Now, he sounded much more relaxed. All of the names were spoken with affection, however, and Hope suspected they were Levi’s friends or family. Levi didn’t speak again and Hope went back to her reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Welcome to my fic! Hope is a character I've been playing around with in the AoT canon, but don't have anything I believe to be publishable. So, I wrote this.  
> Hope Carter is loosely based on a combination of myself and Samantha Carter from Stargate SG1, for whom she is named. Her father is Jacob Carter (same name as Samantha’s father in SG1) and her mother is Nora Carter (originally an accidental reference to Final Fantasy 13, which has a character named Hope whose mother is named Nora, which I decided to keep). Her sister, Laura Carter, is so named only because I like how it sounds. I picture Hope to be feminine in appearance -with a bit of “fluff” masking her powerful muscles- but more “masculine” in personality, with a quick and explosive temper (though it's not represented too much in this story), especially when defending those she cares about. She has anxiety, focused around disease and her mind associates any filth with horrific death, leading her to be obsessive in her cleaning. This is partially based on my own experience with anxiety, especially in reaction to the COVID 19 pandemic.  
> I hope you enjoy my story!


	2. Chapter 2

Hope woke Hange up at 7am the next morning before she went to work. They would have to stay over to keep their eye on Levi, which meant they would be absent from the Underground clinic. They assured Hope, however, that their friend and co-worker, Moblit Berner, had it covered. He hadn’t quite gotten his doctorate yet, but he, the clinic’s three head nurses and the rest of the staff were more than capable of running the facility for a day while Hange took care of Levi.  
“Thank you, Hange, I mean it,” Hope said, walking out the door.  
“Yeah, yeah, get outta here,” they said. When the woman was finally gone, Hange turned and sighed, glancing at their patient. He was still fast asleep and would likely stay that way for a while. Withdrawal could really take it out of a person.  
The morning went by rather uneventfully as Hange did some reading and watched TV -keeping the volume down for their patient’s sake, though they didn’t think a hurricane could wake him up- and checked up on him every hour or so. He awoke around 1:30pm, hungry and irritated. They made him some canned chicken soup, and he drank it straight from the bowl, draining it in seconds.  
“Geez,” Hange said, taking one of Hope’s armchairs, “Did you even taste that?” Levi gave them a bored look.  
“No,” he said, flatly, and Hange laughed.  
“Y’know, I just might like you,” they said. He didn’t reply to that, instead, he wrinkled his nose and brought the front of his t-shirt to his face.  
“Damn,” he said, “I smell like shit.”  
“Well, you’re going to have to wait on bathing, I’m afraid,” Hange said, “I don’t know how Hope’s shower works and I don’t feel like breaking it while I try to figure it out. Also, I don’t know if she’d have a change of clothes for you.” Levi frowned.  
“Where is she?”  
“At work,” Hange said, “So you’re stuck with me for the day.”  
“Fantastic,” the man deadpanned. They sat in an awkward silence for several minutes.  
“Whelp, I’m bored. Oh!” Hange snapped their fingers, “You know what? Hope has games.” Levi watched as they messed with a device by the TV. Soon enough, the television screen displayed the title of some kind of first-person shooter warfare videogame. They grabbed two controllers and handed one to the man. “I play this a lot at home, and sometimes Hope and I co-op. The game is pure propaganda, but what are you gonna do?” They started up the game after giving Levi a quick tutorial of the controls. He held the console naturally, giving Hange the impression that he had some gaming experience. “I’ve gotten pretty good, though it helps that I’ve been to most of the places that the maps are based on. No matter how good you are, though, you will always lose to some kid in Hizuru.”  
While Hange prattled on, Levi got well acquainted with the game. His learning curve only lasted one round and after that he breezed through the map as if he owned the place. It didn’t escape Hange’s notice, however, the way the man would flinch every time his character was shot.  
“Were you ever in the military?” Hange was watching Levi play after they had been killed and had to wait for the round to end before getting respawned. They found it fascinating the way his eyes flicked over the screen, taking in every detail. His reaction time was also pretty impressive, leading the former military medic to ask their question.  
“No,” Levi answered, not taking his eyes from the screen, “You?”  
“Oh yeah, seven years in the Survey Corps. That’s how I got this,” they tapped the eyepatch over their left eye. “Had to retire after that, no one wants a soldier with no depth perception.” Levi grunted. “I was in the same squad as Hope, she joined two years after me, that’s where we met. She retired a few months after I did, tore something in her knee while she was trapped in enemy territory. By the time she got it treated, it had gotten so bad that it was never the same. Now she walks with a limp and on bad days she has to use a cane. It was a miracle she survived,” they continued, reclaiming their controller as the round ended, “There was a squad of Marleyan Titan soldiers between her and the Eldian base.” This got Levi’s attention and he cursed as the distraction cost him his avatar’s life -for the first time in five rounds.  
“Shit… Titan soldiers?”  
“Yeah, apparently Marley has a bunch of soldiers they enhanced to superhuman levels through medical technology,” Hange explained, “Just another war crime to add to the list, which is ex-tensive.”  
“What was Dr. Carter doing in enemy territory?”  
“Hm? Oh, rescue mission. It um… didn’t go well,” they said, “Four officers were caught in Shiganshina,” they referred to the port city on the Paradis southern coast, that served as ground zero for the Marleyan incursion five years earlier, “Which was still controlled by Marley at the time, and taken captive. Two of the prisoners and most of Hope’s squad -including her Captain, Flagon- were killed. She barely managed to get herself and the surviving officers out of there. She was given the rank of Captain after that, even though she had to retire.” Hange sighed, Hope still had nightmares about that mission almost two years ago and the three days after that she spent fighting tooth and nail to get Officers Allyson Moore and Gerard Lehmann back into Eldian territory. “How about some snacks,” they said suddenly, standing up and heading to the kitchen, “You could probably keep down some corn chips and soda.” They returned with a bowl of chips and two Reeve’s brand colas.  
The two ate and drank as they continued to play. Hange ended up giving Levi a virtual tour of Shiganshina, telling him stories about the various landmarks. The man half-listened to them ramble about the train station, the ship yard and the library, which was once the pride of the Maria region of Eldia before the Marleyans burned it down.  
“All those books,” Hange said, tearfully, “From all over the world.”  
They were in the middle of explaining the complex cataloging system of the Shiganshina Library, when Levi began to nod off. Hange wrapped him in a blanket, cleaned up their snacks and put a TV program on. Hope came home to find Hange trying very hard not to laugh at the inaccuracies of the medical drama they were watching and Levi curled into a ball, snoozing on the left side of her couch.  
“Hey,” she said, quietly, “How’d it go?”  
“Great,” Hange said, “He slept all morning, inhaled some soup and then we played Eldia Rising (A/N: Roll credits) for a few hours. He’s surprisingly good. We had chips and soda and then he fell asleep.” Hope looked at the sleeping man and felt a surge of warmth; he was… kind of adorable, snuggled into the blanket with only the top of his head visible. “He should be okay now,” Hange continued, “So I think I’ll head out, but you know how to reach me if he gets sick again.”  
They said their goodbyes and left, leaving Hope alone with the sleeping man once again. After checking on him -and happily finding his face had gained just a bit of color, though the dark circles under his eyes were just as prominent as before-, she showered, changed out of her scrubs into more comfortable clothes and started on dinner. The next time Hope checked on Levi, he was half-awake, likely roused by the smell of beef stew.  
“Hey, you must be hungry,” she said, “The food’ll be ready in about half an hour, why don’t you bathe in the meantime?” At this, the man awoke fully. “I’ll get you a change of clothes and show you how to work the shower.”  
Levi showered for nearly twenty minutes before he finally emerged from the bathroom smelling of lavender, and dressed in one of Hope’s old Survey Corps t-shirts and a pair of her lounge pants -which, unsurprisingly, had to be rolled up at the ankles. He looked much more relaxed after getting clean, almost smiling from his spot in one of Hope’s armchairs. The couch was unavailable as its cushion covers were currently being washed with his clothes and Hope’s bedding.  
When she brought out two plates of stew over egg noodles, Hope caught Levi running his fingers across the underside of her coffee table.  
“If you’re looking for dust, you won’t find any,” she said, making him jump a little. Despite her claim, he still seemed to feel the need to confirm her statement. He relaxed further when he looked at his hand and found no evidence of filth, as she’d said he wouldn’t. “I try to keep my place clean,” she explained, “I’m a… bit of a germaphobe.”  
“That suits me just fine,” Levi said, flatly, taking the plate Hope was offering him. The woman set her own plate on the coffee table.  
“Do you want something to drink? I’ve got water, soda, beer,” she said, heading back to the kitchen.  
“Water is fine.”  
“You got it.” A few moments later Hope returned with two glasses. “So,” she started, as they began eating, “I heard you’re good at video games. You play a lot?”  
“Something like that,” Levi said, cryptically.  
“Okay… How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”  
“25.”  
“Really? Huh, you’re younger than me, probably only by a few months though. When were you born?”  
“December 25th 820.”  
“Gotcha, I was born May 17th of that year. You were born on Yule, eh?”  
“I guess so.”  
Not the most talkative person in the world, Hope mused.  
They finished their meal in silence. Hope was in the middle of doing the dishes when her phone rang. It was Hange.  
“Hope, turn on the Sina News, right now,” they said, sounding somewhat panicked.  
“What’s going on?” Hope did as her friend told her, tuning her TV to channel 14.  
“You’ll see.”  
Hange was right, no other explanation was needed. Hope’s eyes went wide when Levi’s face appeared on the screen.  
“This man is to be considered very dangerous,” the announcer was saying, “If you see him, call the Military Police immediately.”  
“What the hell…” Hope said softly. She turned to look at Levi, just in time to see his fist fly toward her face. She dodged, grabbed his arm and flipped him over onto his back, knocking the breath from him. While he coughed, trying to fill his lungs, she turned him over on his stomach and pinned his arms behind him. “What the fuck are you doing?”  
“Hope? Hope, are you okay?” Hange’s frantic voice came from the phone that Hope had dropped in her scuffle with Levi.  
“I’m fine, Hange, but I’m going to have to get back to you,” she said. She heard the phone beep as her friend hung up. Levi took advantage of her momentary lapse in concentration, rolling over and tearing his arms from her grasp. Within moments, he was back on his feet and Hope straightened up. Gunmetal grey gazed into warm brown as they stared each other down.  
“I can’t go back there,” Levi said. His tone was deceptively even; his eyes betraying his agitation. “I can’t help them if I’m stuck in there, myself.”  
“Levi, I’m not going to turn you in,” Hope said, “Not until you’ve explained yourself.” He shook his head.  
“It’s safer if you don’t know,” he said, “I can’t get anyone else involved.”  
“And yet you attack me?”  
“I was just going to knock you out,” Levi said, “I’m not about to hurt someone who’s done so much for me. And trust me, I could if I wanted to. But you’ve done enough, Hope. More than enough.” Hope sighed, running her fingers through her hair.  
“I’m already involved, Levi,” she said, “Even if you were to leave right now, I’d worry about you and try my damnedest to find you. That’s just the kind of person I am.” The man’s shoulder’s slumped.  
“Dammit,” he said, softly.  
“Just... just sit back down, okay?” Hope gestured to the chair Levi had been occupying earlier, “I’ll make some tea and we can talk.” The man seemed to struggle for a moment, and then obeyed.  
A few minutes later, Hope and Levi sat in the easy chairs on opposite sides of the couch, drinking strong, black tea. Levi took a deep breath, about to speak when Hope’s door burst open.  
“Hope!” It was Hange, “Are you okay? If that shrimpy little bastard hurt you I swear to god-.”  
“I’m okay, Hange,” Hope said, calmly, “Please close the door.”  
“Oh… okay then,” they said, doing as Hope asked, before crossing the room and seating themself on the arm of the couch that was closest to the woman.  
“Okay,” Hope said, “I’m going to need you to explain some things.”  
“I can’t.”  
“You said you couldn’t ‘go back there’,” Hope demanded, “Where?” The man didn’t answer for several minutes and Hope was starting to think he wouldn’t until he finally spoke.  
“The Orvud Research Institute,” he said. Hange spoke up.  
“The ORI? Are you a researcher or something?” Levi shook his head. He looked up at the two sitting across from him, face as blank as always.  
“I was… a research subject,” he said, finally. Hope and Hange exchanged disbelieving glances.  
“What?” The Institute was a medical research facility, so testing on humans was to be expected, but experimentation on unwilling subjects?  
“I’ve been to the ORI. Quite a few times, actually,” Hange said, “I never saw anyone who was forced to be there.” Levi raised an eyebrow slightly.  
“You really think they’d put their illegal activities on display?”  
“Good point.”  
“You might as well tell us everything,” Hope said, “Because I’m not letting leave that chair until you do.”  
“I’d like to see you try and stop me,” Levi said. The woman rolled her eyes.  
“Dammit, Levi,” she said, slapping her arm rest in frustration, “What’s your plan? You mentioned helping others, how are you going to do that if you’re dodging the MPs? You got friends somewhere in Rose?” Levi opened his mouth and then closed it. “That’s what I thought.”  
“Wait,” Hange said, “How did you even get here? The ORI is right on the Sina border, you’d have to go all the way through Orvud, through Rose and then through at least a kilometer of the Utopia District.”  
“I snuck around for a few days. Then I ran.”  
“The entire way?”  
“Yes.”  
“Seriously, all the way from Orvud? Geez, how long did that take?”  
“Maybe two hours.” Hange and Hope exchanged looks of incredulity. It took two hours to get from Orvud to Utopia by train. Hope’s blood ran cold, this was all starting to sound horribly familiar.  
“What the fuck kind of research were they doing?” Hange leapt to their feet, practically shouting, an uncharacteristic scowl on their face.  
“Hange!” Hope grabbed their arm and pulled them back down, “Not so loud!”  
“R-right… sorry,” they said, still frowning.  
“Project Titanfall,” Levi said quietly, his head bowed, eyes hidden by his hair.  
“’Titanfall’,” Hope repeated, “Does this… have anything to do with the Marleyan Titan soldiers?” Levi looked her in the eye.  
“…Yes.” Hope clutched the armrests on her chair, eyes wide, and began to tremble. “You’ve met them, haven’t you,” Levi said. It wasn’t a question. Hope took a deep, shaking breath.  
“I have,” she said, her voice strained, “And I never want to again.”


	3. Chapter 3

It was raining, and Hope, Allyson, Gerard, Henning Meyer and Lynne Kent were far from the Eldian base known as Utgard located halfway between the Rose city of Trost and Shiganshina. They were cut off from the horses that had gotten the rescue party to the city and Hope’s right leg was injured, badly. She pressed on, however. She’d already lost her Squad: Captain Flagon Turret and Officers Petra Ral, Eld Jinn, Uluo Bozad and Gunther Shultz. Hope would get the four remaining soldiers home safe if it was the last thing she did, and it was starting to look like it might be.   
The Officers were relatively uninjured; the Marleyans didn’t get the chance to torture them too much, though Allyson and Gerard were missing a full hand of fingernails apiece. With this in mind, Hope lead them in a wide arc through Maria that would get them to Utgard in three days instead of the one day it would take them to go straight north toward Trost. Their ODM gear -the apparatuses that allowed them to fly through the air using gas propelled wires- was useless on even ground; though there was no doubt that their swords would come in handy. The gun-type ODMG model would probably be more useful should they encounter enemies, but it made stealth -which they’d needed for the rescue mission- nearly impossible. They would make due with what they had. Hope knew all too well that walking on her injured leg for three days could cripple her, but that was a price she was wiling to pay. Anything to avoid running into the Titan soldiers again.   
The Titans were nothing short of horrifying. Although they looked fully human, there was an eerie emptiness in their eyes as they tore a person limb-from-limb with their bare hands. They were impossibly fast and could shrug off wounds that would, at the very least, incapacitate a normal person as if they were bug bites. Hope had watched as one of them tore Eld’s head from his body like it was paper and another snapped off Petra’s arms like a child plucking the wings from a butterfly, before crushing her skull under their boot. All things considered, Hope and the four officers had been extremely fortunate to escape with their lives.   
Their luck ran out, however, when one of the Titans caught up with them. Allyson and Gerard had to drag Hope away as Lynne and Henning fought the Titan, trying to buy a few minutes. They only succeeded in weakening him before he tore them apart, but it was enough. Hope used the last of her strength to fight the Titan and managed to behead him -finally killing him- before she fainted. Gerard carried her for several hours before she woke up and made him put her down. She would crawl all the way to Utgard if it increased the officers’ chances of survival, even minutely.   
They arrived at the base filthy, dehydrated, starving and exhausted, but alive. They were nursed back to health and Hope got surgery on her knee, though it would never be the same. Allyson and Gerard received commendations and Hope was promoted to Captain, but it was difficult to celebrate. The dead eyes of the Titans and the horror that came with them would haunt the three for years to come. 

Hope started violently at the sound of Hange’s voice calling her name as they waved their hand in front of her face. She’d never told her friend exactly what had happened during that disastrous rescue mission, but Levi was looking at her as if he had an idea of what sort of horrendous things she’d witnessed.   
“What…,” Hope swallowed heavily, “What is Project Titanfall?”   
“An experimental program created to produce soldiers who could match the strength and ferocity of the Titans,” Levi said. It seemed as if he’d decided to trust them, “I was the first. Well… me and two others…” He went quiet.   
“Isabel and Furlan?” Levi gaped at Hope.  
“How-?”  
“You said their names while you were delirious,” Hope said, “It sounded like… you were afraid for them.”  
“I see…” The man took a deep breath, “Isabel, Furlan and I were all taken from the Underground. We were notorious thugs who caused a lot of problems for the MPs. When they finally caught up to us nearly six years ago, they gave us a deal: either be judged and likely put to death for our crimes or become research subjects ‘for the sake of Eldia’. We… had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.” Levi bowed his head again, his fists clenched so tightly on the arm rests that his knuckles lost what little color they had.  
“They… they knew?” Hope’s voice shook with rage, “The government knew about the Titans six years ago?”   
“At least,” Levi said.   
“Fuck,” the woman muttered, gripping her hair, “Fuck… fuck…”   
“They put us through drugs, conditioning, most of the time I had no clue what they were doing to us,” the man continued, “They were pretty successful with Isabel and Furlan, but for some reason I was able to resist the ‘treatment’ -the brainwashing part at least. It got to a point where the time my friends spent in a lucid state became less and less, and I knew I had to get them out of there before they completely lost themselves.”   
Hange’s face twisted with fury, their body rigid. As a scientist themself, they understood the thirst for knowledge, but anyone who did such horrible things -even in the pursuit of scientific discovery- was the most reprehensible and disgusting kind of person in the world. Hope seemed to agree, if the horrified look on her face was anything to go by.  
“We… tried to escape,” Levi said, “Isabel and Furlan were killed. The escape plan was my idea, and I led them to their deaths.” He took a shaky breath. “Four months later, Marley attacked Shiganshina, and suddenly they had lots of orphans to choose from.” If Hange had thought they couldn’t get any angrier, they were wrong.   
“Eren and Armin,” Hope said, her voice breaking slightly. She was thinking about the warmth that had been in Levi’s voice when he’d talked about them in his sleep.  
“Did I say their names, too?” Hope nodded and Levi was silent for a moment, “They brought in three ten-year-old kids who had just lost everything: Eren, Armin and a girl named Mikasa. I… I tried to protect them…,” he stared at his hands which were now resting in his lap, “Those kids… they were put through the same shit that I was: the drugs, the conditioning, everything. It worked incredibly well on Eren and Armin, but not so much on Mikasa. Turns out she’s from a special bloodline that I guess is resistant to that kind of thing, called the Ackerman clan. It makes me wonder… I never knew who my father was and my mother never told me her last name.”   
“I’m gonna level with ya, Levi,” Hope said, hugging her shoulders and staring at the floor, “I’m starting to regret making you tell me this shit.” She looked up, “But… there’s no going back now, I’m with you.”  
“Me, too,” Hange said, their single, brown eye blazing. Levi’s expression softened.   
“Thank you,” he said. No sooner had he spoken than a pounding came from Hope’s door, startling all three of them.  
“Dr. Carter, this is the Military Police,” a voice called, “We have reason to believe you may have come into contact with a dangerous fugitive.”  
“Shit,” Hope muttered, she mouthed the words ‘fire escape’ toward Levi, who nodded and headed to the window. As soon as he was through and closed the shutter behind him, Hope walked to the door. The person outside called out again.  
“Dr. Carter?”  
“Hang on, I’m coming, I’m coming,” she said, she opened the door to reveal a lanky, young man with a bowl cut and a young woman with blonde, shoulder-length hair. Both wore the unicorn insignia that identified them as MPs.   
“Good evening, ma’am, I’m Officer Marlowe Freudenberg and this is Officer Hitch Dreyse,” the young man said, “I’m sorry to bother you at this time, but we were told that you were seen with this man.” He held up a picture of Levi.   
“Sure, I saw him,” Hope said, deciding to go with the half-truth, “He was passed out in an alley and I took him home, gave him my couch for the night. He was gone by the time I woke up this morning.”  
“You didn’t think to call someone?” The young woman had spoken, her voice had an accusing tone, “Didn’t you see the news broadcast?”  
“The what?” Hope shrugged, “Sorry, I don’t watch a lot of TV.” Officer Freudenberg was a bit more polite than his partner.  
“Do you mind if we take a look around?”   
“I do, actually,” Hope said, “But if you must…” She turned and was about to let the officers inside when the sound of gunshots rang through the air- from directly above them. Hope swore. “The fuck is that?”  
“They must have found him,” Dreyse said, “They did say that he couldn’t have gotten far.”  
“Stay here, ma’am,” Freudenberg said, “We’ll keep you safe.” Sure you will, Hope thought. The officers left and the moment they were gone, Hope went to the window and opened it, leaning out and trying to get a glimpse of what was happening on the roof. She suddenly wished she had ODM gear. She swung her leg over the windowsill, about to climb onto the fire escape when Hange stopped her.  
“Hope, what are you planning to do?”   
“I- I don’t know, but I can’t just let them take him,” Hope said.  
“Are you just going to make yourself an enemy of the state?”   
“Yes, if that’s what I have to do!”   
“Fair enough,” Hange said, “Not sure if there’s anything I can do to help, but I won’t stop you.” Hope nodded, and pulled herself onto the landing. She climbed up to the roof, where she found Levi standing near the edge of the building, surrounded by MPs. Her heart sank at the sight of the blood seeping through his fingers from where he clutched his right shoulder, and he had more wounds on his calf, thigh and abdomen.   
“Don’t move, Levi,” a man who wore the uniform of an MP captain, whom Hope recognized as Ralph Fischer, was saying, “Unless you want a few more holes in you!” A couple of officers approached Levi, their anti-personnel model ODMG guns trained on him. Hope panicked, they were going to take him away, back to the place he’d fought so hard to escape from.   
“Levi!” He and the MPs all turned to look at her. She bit her lip, maybe… maybe if she distracted them, he’d be able to get away. He was injured, but he was supposed to have strength comparable to the Titans, right? No matter how she wracked her brain, Hope could think of no other way to help the man. If she hadn’t retired, she could have claimed him to be in her custody, but right now she was just a civilian. She really wished she had ODM gear. “You- you can’t take him,” she said, “He’s in my custody.” Might as well try a bluff.  
“You’re no longer an active member of the military Doctor Carter, you don’t have that authority,” Fischer said, “Why would you want to help this asshole anyway?”   
Fuck it, Hope thought.   
“He’s the victim of illegal government activity,” she said, “I think that-.” The sound of manic laughter cut her off.   
“Don’t tell me you believed that shit? I knew you were gullible, but damn Doctor Carter,” Levi said the name with contempt, his face was twisted into a grin that looked completely unnatural on him, “I thought you might have been at least a little smarter than that!”   
“Dammit Carter,” the captain said, “You and your damn bleeding heart. This guy is nothing more than a violent jailbird.”   
Hope was stunned. Levi hadn’t lied to her, she knew that much. So why… Don’t tell me, she thought, He’s still trying to protect me? She looked at him and his eyes seemed to be pleading with her. Just let it go, they seemed to say, forget about me.   
“We can probably get the brass to overlook your transgression,” Fischer said, “You’re just a civilian who got tricked into helping this piece of shit.” The man punctuated the last word with a harsh kick to the back of Levi’s legs, bringing him to his knees with a pained grunt.   
Hope watched helplessly as the MPs cuffed Levi and took him away, descending the building with their ODM gear. She felt the sting of tears as she returned to her apartment, to Hange, who looked at her with concern.   
“What happened?”  
“They took him,” Hope said, shortly, not trusting her voice to remain steady.   
“Shit…”   
“We have to save him.”  
“How the hell do you plan to do that?”   
“I’m going to call Erwin,” she said, decisively.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fair warning. shit gets dark. Rod Reiss is an asshole.

Erwin Smith was the former Commander of the Survey Corps, and a force of nature. He’d been forced to retire from active duty due to injury like Hange and Hope, having lost his right arm in an explosion. If anyone hated government corruption, it was him. (A/N: Erwin is straight-up Captain America)  
“That’s quite the tale,” he said once Hope had finished relaying to him all that Levi had told her. They were sitting in Hope’s apartment in the afternoon, the day after Levi’s arrest. Erwin and Hange took the easy chairs as Hope had her leg stretched out on the couch having strained it climbing the fire escape. “Do you have any evidence that can corroborate his story?” Hope and Hange looked at each other.  
“Not much beyond conjecture,” Hange said, “There were definitely signs that supported his claim that he’d been drugged: I found traces of an unusual drug cocktail in his blood that didn’t look therapeutic. That, plus the professional track marks and the fact that he truly didn’t seem to know what he was withdrawing from, suggest he was telling the truth. And another thing,” Hange gestured toward Hope’s TV, “He wasn’t just good at the video game we were playing; it was more like he was conditioned. Every time his character was shot -which was rare-, he flinched as if he was expecting pain.”  
“The MPs shot him four times,” Hope said, “Once in each leg, once in the abdomen and once in the shoulder, but he was still standing. That’s not something many people can do. I’ve seen some of the toughest people I know brought down by just one shot to the leg.” Erwin nodded.  
“I looked into the names you mentioned,” he said, “Isabel Magnolia and Furlan Church were, indeed, arrested by the Interior Military Police along with Levi almost six years ago. According to the records, they were put to death for their crimes soon after, but I found nothing on what happened to Levi. As for the kids, there are no records on them. They don’t exist.” Erwin smiled ruefully, quirking one of his thick, blonde eyebrows, “Or, at least, that’s what the government seems to want anyone to think should they look for them. I talked to a soldier from the Garrison Brigade who was stationed in Shiganshina when Marley attacked. He said he knew three children named Eren Jaeger, Armin Arlert and Mikasa Ackerman. According to him, Mikasa was Eren’s foster sister and Armin was their best friend. He’d been told that they died with their families. I will admit, it is all very suspicious.”  
“So, what now?”  
“We have to get into the ORI, rescue Levi and expose the government’s crimes,” Hope said. She ran her hand through her hair, “Shit… sounds pretty daunting now that I think about it.”  
“Well, no one ever accused the Survey Corps of being too sane,” Hange said. They had a point; as Eldia’s main offensive force, the Corps frequently had to run headlong into danger and were more often than not badly outnumbered due to the nation’s small size. One of the only reasons they were ever successful was their use of ODM gear, that and the tenacity of its members.  
“We should focus on getting Levi back first,” Erwin said, “Once he’s safe we’ll have time to move on to bigger things.”  
“You think they’ll kill him,” Hope said.  
“Although he’s no doubt a valuable test subject, we can’t ignore the possibility that they could decide he’s more trouble than he’s worth,” the man said, “If that’s the case then yes, I believe they may dispose of him.”  
Hange grit their teeth, thinking of Levi’s face as he described the horrible things done to him and the others. Come to think of it, he’d seemed almost nonchalant about his own treatment, but when talking about his friends and the kids, his voice had held an ice-cold fury. Perhaps that meant he put the safety and well-being of others before himself. In that regard he and Hope would be similar: she, too, had a habit of putting herself in danger if it meant improving her comrades’ chances for survival. It had gotten her into trouble numerous times in the past, but it also meant that many lives were saved that otherwise would have been lost. Hange decided that, if Levi was anything like Hope, then they couldn’t let him die.  
Erwin, Hope and Hange spent the next few hours formulating a plan to get Levi out of the Orvud Research Institute. Hange could probably get them into the building, as they were a frequent visitor to the institution. However, getting to wherever they were keeping Levi and the kids would be more challenging; no doubt there were numerous security protocols in place to keep out those who were not involved with the project. They would need to enlist the help of someone who could get past them. Unsurprisingly, Erwin knew of someone.  
“Officer Ilse Langnar,” he said, “Officially she’s a record keeper for the Corps. Unofficially, she’s a hacker who’s provided a great deal of inside information regarding the Marleyans’ activities and movements over the last couple of years.”  
“Can we trust her?” Knowing Erwin’s shrewd nature, Hope knew the answer was probably yes, but it never hurt to be cautious.  
“Absolutely,” the man said, “Her loyalty is to the Corps, she knows better than to trust the government.”  
“Oh?” Hange looked intrigued.  
“This isn’t the first time I’ve caught wind of governing bodies being involved in less-than-savory activities,” Erwin explained, “General misuse of tax money, mainly. Resources meant to go toward infrastructure have been mysteriously finding their way into the pockets of the administrators and funding nefarious business transactions, shady weapons deals, and illegal programs. No doubt Project Titanfall is among them.” He smiled humorlessly, “It’s actually mostly thanks to Ilse that we know about it at all.” Hope looked at him.  
“Who exactly is ‘we’?”  
“Most of the top officials in the Survey Corps. Other than myself and Ilse, there’s Commander Miche Zacharius and Captains Nanaba Bakker, Dieter Ness and Luke Sis. Even those who are not in the know are far more likely to follow Zacharius than they are to follow Prime Minister Fritz and his lackeys. Among the Garrison Brigade we have Commander Dot Pyxis, Captain Anka Rheinberger, Captain Gustav Anderson and Captain Rico Brzenska.” Hange whistled.  
“Guess Hope and I have been missing out on quite a bit,” they said. Hope, herself, was looking rather disgruntled.  
“You didn’t think to bring us into the fold? Did you not think you could trust us?” Erwin shook his head,  
“You and Hange had made lives for yourselves outside of the military,” he said, “I didn’t want to involve you if I didn’t have to.” Hope sighed, this wasn’t the time to argue with him.  
“Anyone from the Military Police?”  
“No,” Erwin said, “Too many of them benefit from the corruption. And even those who don’t, answer to those who do.”  
In the end, they decided to have Hange bring the others to the Institute under the pretense of showing them the technology that was being developed that could improve the lives of people with life-changing injuries, people like themself, Erwin and Hope. Ilse would be there as a technology enthusiast, which wouldn’t be too far from the truth. Hope would even use her cane in order to really sell the ruse.  
“Just another rescue mission,” she said as they took the train from Utopia to Orvud. Ilse would meet them at the train station.  
“Hopefully our last,” Hange said.  
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Erwin said. Hope gave him a sidelong glance.  
They reached the station at about 5pm and found Ilse waiting for them.  
“Comma- I mean, Mr. Smith!” The young woman was tall and slender with short, dark hair, freckles and nervous-looking amber eyes. She wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, a computer bag slung over her shoulder.  
“Thank you for meeting us, Ilse,” Erwin said, he turned to the other two, “This is Dr. Hange Zoe and Dr. Hope Carter, they were members of the Survey Corps when I was still Commander.”  
“It’s nice to meet you,” the young woman said.  
“Likewise,” Hope said, “I wish we could have met under better circumstances.” Ilse shrugged, probably trying -and failing- to look casual.  
“It’s whatever,” she said, her voice trembling slightly.  
“Shall we?” Hange began to lead the way.  
They took a tram to the facility and arrived around 5:30. Hange brought them through the front door and introduced them to the guard as their guests.  
“Just showing them the tech division,” they said. In a stroke of luck, the guard was one who was familiar with Hange, and knew better than to ask them questions and subject himself to an hour of scientific rambling. As soon as they entered the elevator, the mission began.  
“Operation: Rescue Levi is a go,” Hange said. 

2:30PM

By the time the MPs got Levi to their Orvud headquarters, his bullet wounds had already begun to heal, steam rising from them as they closed. He grunted as he was shoved into an underground jail cell. A couple of rookies -a young man with a bowl cut and a young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair- were left to guard him as he awaited processing. The woman was quick to voice her distaste.  
“What’s with this guy? Is he some kind of freak?”  
“I’ve heard of the Marleyan Titan soldiers,” the man said, “Maybe he’s one of them.”  
“You ever hear of a Titan getting captured? And so easily? Hey,” the woman addressed Levi harshly, “Are you a Titan?” He surprised them by answering.  
“Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t?”  
“Probably not,” the woman admitted.  
“That woman… Dr. Carter,” the young man said, “What do you think she was talking about?”  
“Who cares?” The woman jerked her head in Levi’s direction, “Whatever he told her was bullshit, he said so himself.”  
“Maybe…” The young man seemed conflicted, “It’s just… I dunno.” The woman rolled her eyes.  
“What?”  
“He fought like hell,” the man said, “I was sure he was going to jump off the roof. But then Dr. Carter showed up and he immediately surrendered. And the look on his face…”  
“What ‘look’, his expression never changes.”  
“Something just seems off,” the young man said, finally. The woman scoffed.  
“Is this a new angle on your ‘Clean up the Military Police’ scheme or something?” The young man was about to answer when their Captain appeared.  
“All right you scum,” he said, addressing Levi, “It’s time for you to go.”  
“To prison or to the ORI?” Levi said this looking directly at the young man. The kid already had his doubts, maybe he could use a little more to think about.  
“The Orvud Research Institute?” The young man took the bait, “What do you mean?”  
“Just ignore him, rookie,” the Captain said. The young man tried to protest, but was pushed aside as Levi was taken topside, back into the clutches of Rod Reiss, the man behind Project Titanfall. 

3:00PM

“You gave us all quite the scare, Levi,” Rod said. He was sitting in a prison transport truck across from his captive, who was chained to the bench he sat on by his wrists, ankles and neck. He’d also been gagged, meaning all he could do was glower at Rod as he spoke. “Especially the children, they were asking about you.”  
*Go fuck yourself, you fat piece of shit*, Levi thought, glaring at Rod with such intensity that if looks could kill he’d be six feet under and rotting.  
“I told them not to worry,” Rod continued, “That we’d get you back. They’re eager to see you again, particularly Eren and Armin.”  
*The fuck are you-* Levi’s eyes widened, *No…*  
“They were disappointed when they didn’t get a chance to test their strength against you.”  
*No no no no no*  
“I’m sure they will be chewing at the bit to spar with you.” Rod gave Levi a sadistic smile, knowing full well what he was thinking, and the fear he was no doubt trying to hide.  
*You can’t…* Levi shut his eyes, he didn’t want to give the other man the satisfaction of see him suffer. They were going to make him fight them, fight the kids. He couldn’t… he wouldn’t…  
“You know, I discovered something interesting recently,” Rod continued, “Ackermans, like yourself,” Levi looked at him wide-eyed, “That’s right, you didn’t know. You would have found out if you hadn’t left but that doesn’t matter now. Ackermans like yourself and your second cousin, dear little Mikasa, have another quirk about them other than resistance to brain-washing.” Rod leaned forward, his creepy, blue eyes boring into Levi’s, “You physically cannot allow yourself to die.”  
*What?*  
“Isn’t that strange? I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself, with Mikasa.”  
*You motherfucker, if you hurt her…*  
“We pitted the three children against each other, and while Mikasa protected Eren from Armin, both of them tried to defeat her. Even when Eren attacked her, she refused to fight him, that is until she was on the brink of death,” Levi had to fight to keep a sound of distress from escaping him, “It looked like she was going to let Eren kill her, but at the last moment, she fought back. It was really quite remarkable.” Rod leaned back, looking for all the world like a satisfied toad, “I simply can’t wait to see what you will do.” Levi could do nothing but shut his eyes and hang his head.

3:55PM 

The arena: where so many test subjects had met their ends. Levi hadn’t had the heart to tell Hope and Hange about all of the other kids who were brought in at the same time as Eren, Armin and Mikasa. They didn’t live very long. Daz… Hannah… Sam… Ruth… Mina…Franz… Thomas… Milieus… Nack… They’d all met their end to Eren, Armin or one of the others. The worst part was when the victor returned to themselves, not remembering their actions but finding the body of their friend beside them, torn asunder. The way they stared at their blood-covered hands, their wails of anguish and the way they clung to him when he tried to comfort them, were things Levi would never forget.  
It wasn’t just the kids, either, derelicts and undesirables were frequently brought in from the Underground to be tested on. They all ended up dead, either during experimentation or in the arena. Some of them Levi recognized.  
It was here that Isabel, Furlan and himself were forced to fight to the death after their failed escape attempt. Isabel and Furlan fought each other while Levi tried to keep them apart, to no avail. Furlan was victorious, but Isabel had managed to mortally wound him before she died.  
Mikasa had been lucky, due to fact that she couldn’t be manipulated like the others, she didn’t spend much time in the arena -that is, until recently. Levi was just glad that the last three kids were still alive, if only for the moment.  
For the first time in years, Levi was thrown into the arena and few minutes later, the two boys joined him. Excitable, passionate Eren, and sweet, clever Armin, stared at him. Eren’s blazing green and Armin’s sky-blue eyes were dead and empty. Mikasa… where was Mikasa? Levi heard a muffled scream from above him and caught sight of the girl, her fists pounding against the glass of the observation deck. He watched as she was restrained: handcuffed to a chair and pushed close to the window, where she would get a good view of the carnage.  
“Now then boys,” came Rod’s voice from a loudspeaker, “Why don’t you show Levi how strong you are?”


	5. Chapter 5

5:45PM

Two hours… it had nearly been two hours that Levi had been trying -unsuccessfully- to stay out of Eren and Armin’s grasp. He was alive, but barely. He was still not in top form, not to mention he wasn’t trying to fight back. Eren had gotten his left leg almost right off the bat and broken it, horribly, to the point where the bone in his shin was sticking out of his skin. It was healing, but it was healing slowly and hindering his movements considerably. Since then, Armin had managed to claw the right side of his face, leaving deep cuts and ruining his eye. The bones in Levi’s left forearm had been shattered, at least five of his ribs were broken and one of lungs had been punctured. He was pretty sure he was bleeding internally. Currently, Eren had Levi by the neck, pinning him against the wall as his body disobeyed his wishes, moving on its own and desperately trying to fight back. He managed to kick the boy in the shoulder with his uninjured leg, making Eren drop him. An excruciating pain washed over him as he hit the ground, hard. Levi was dazed, his ankle being crushed under Eren’s foot, when something unexpected happened.   
“Stop!” Rod’s pre-recorded voice came from the loudspeaker. Eren and Armin both fell to their knees like marionettes that had their strings cut. They shook their heads a moment later and looked around. Armin screamed in horror at finding himself in the arena, holding his face in his hands and rocking back and forth. Eren looked up at Levi.  
“L-Levi?” His voice sounded so small, “Levi? W-what… oh… oh fuck… Levi…” The boy started to hyperventilate as he took in the sight of the man in front of him, who was slumped against the wall and covered with blood. Tears poured down Eren’s face and he reached a trembling hand toward Levi.   
“E…Eren…” Levi gasped as he struggled to breathe, “Eren… it… it’s… okay… brat…” He tried to lift himself off the ground with his good arm and fell back down, letting out a sound that made Eren cry even harder, “S-stop… cr-cry…ing,” He coughed and blood sprayed from his mouth. Fuck… I’m pathetic, he thought, his mind going hazy. He fought to stay awake, but it was clear that he was fighting a losing battle. Just before he passed out, he saw someone limping towards him. 

“Levi!” Hope ignored the pain in her knee as she ran to the man. The two boys sat on either side of him, crying helplessly. Her hands flew to her mouth when she saw the state Levi was in. “Lev- oh… oh my god…” She didn’t know where to start.  
“A-airway,” she muttered, “Airway, breathing, circulation…” She gently moved Armin aside and knelt beside the injured man. She listened to his chest and heard a horrible gurgling sound. “Fuck.”  
“Eren!” The voice of a young girl called from the arena’s entrance, running in their direction. “Armin! Levi!” She wrapped her arms around Eren first, then Armin. She then turned to Hope. “Is he…?”  
“He’s alive,” Hope said, “But…”  
“He’ll heal, right?” Armin was looking at her with panic in his big, blue eyes, “He’ll be okay, won’t he?”   
“Look!” Eren gestured frantically to the steam rising from Levi’s body, “The steam… that- that means he’s healing!”  
“Okay, I need you guys to focus,” Hope said, “Is there a medical facility down here? Where do you go when you’re hurt?”   
“Wh-when we get hurt, we just heal,” Mikasa said. Hope bit her lip, then eased Levi down onto his left side.   
“We have to get him out of here,” she said.  
“…No…”  
“Levi?”   
“L…leave… me…,” the man said, in a harsh whisper.  
“Not a chance,” Hope said.  
“The kids… get them… out…of here.” Incredibly, Levi’s voice seemed to be getting stronger, little by little, “I’ll… be fine.”   
“We’re not leaving you behind, Levi,” Mikasa said.   
“Of course we won’t!” Eren’s face was set in a determined smile. Now that their initial panic had lessened, the kids exchanged resolute looks.  
“We need to-,” Armin began, but he was cut off by the sound of gunshots. Suddenly, Ilse was running toward them, followed by Erwin and Hange who were covering her retreat, guns out. Hope pulled her own from where it was tucked into her belt. She was about to join her fellow soldiers when she was pushed back by Armin.   
“What are you-.”  
“Stay behind us,” Eren said, as Mikasa lifted Levi onto her back with surprising ease.   
“D-dammit… Mikasa,” Levi said, “I… told you… to…”  
“And we told you,” Eren said, “We’re not leaving you.” As soon as Erwin and Hange joined the others in the arena, the two boys rushed forward.  
“You okay, Hope? We’ll have to find a way- hey!” Hange shouted to Eren and Armin as they ran past, disappearing through the arena’s single entrance. Hange turned to Hope who stood behind them next to Mikasa.   
“Don’t worry about them,” the girl said, “They’ll be fine.” Erwin looked to Levi, who was glowering in the direction the boys had left in. The five could hear screams and gunshots coming from there.  
“You must be Levi,” the man said.   
“Who the fuck… are you… lopsided bastard,” Levi said. Erwin looked taken aback, but Mikasa smiled.   
“Welcome back,” she said. Levi grunted as Hope went to his side.   
“Hey, are you breathing okay?”   
“Better than… I was…” Levi coughed, “Those shitty… little brats…”  
“Do you think you can walk?” He shook his head.  
“Spent all my energy… on my lungs… gonna need a little longer… for everything else…” Hope was about to ask him what he meant when Armin’s blonde head appeared from the doorway.   
“It’s clear!”   
“Let’s go,” Mikasa said, leading the way.   
They walked through halls lined with the unconscious bodies of the guards and facility staff. Eren and Armin had done an effective job of clearing the way -and without causing any deaths, no less. It seemed that they had incredible strength even when not in a hypnotized state.   
“Wow…,” Hange muttered as they followed the three kids and Levi. “Hey, uh… one question. How are we going to get out of here? I’ll bet anything they shut down the elevator.”   
“Back door…” Levi said, sounding groggy.   
“I doubt we’ll be able to get out the way you did,” Armin said, “They probably closed it off.”  
“We’ll just have to fight our way through,” Eren said.  
“Reiss…” Levi murmured. Hange froze.  
“’Reiss’? As in Rod Reiss?”   
“Yeah,” Armin said, “He’s the guy who runs this whole thing.”   
“No way… he’s the main benefactor of the Underground Clinic,” Hange said, not moving, their hand on their chin, thoughtfully. Erwin rested his hand on their shoulder.   
“Do you think the clinic could be connected?”   
“I’d hate to say it, but… people from the Underground do seem to disappear at a higher rate than one would expect,” Hange said. Hope didn’t like the implications of what they were saying.   
“The… clinic?” Something occurred to Levi and he was suddenly very awake. He remembered the clinic; he and his mother had gone there several times. And then his mother had gotten sick…   
“We can talk about it later,” Erwin said, “Right now, we have to get out of here.”   
They found Rod Reiss barricaded in an office, cowering in a corner. Eren broke through the door, reducing the desk Rod had shoved in front of it to splinters. He and Armin went to confront him, but Levi beat them to it. He’d slipped off of Mikasa’s back and dragged his injured leg behind him, falling to one knee in front of the pathetic man and grabbing him by the collar.  
“L-Levi,” Rod stammered, “No- no need to get violent.”  
“Tell me something, Rod,” Levi said, his voice low and dangerous, but steady, “You worked in the Underground Clinic twenty years ago, did you not?” Rod swallowed heavily.   
“Wh-why yes… why do you ask?” Levi tightened his grip on the man’s collar.   
“My mother…,” He said. Rod’s eyes widened. “My mother, Kuchel, she got sick, remember? You were very interested in me, but my mom refused to tell you anything.” Levi narrowed his good eye. “You really played the long game, didn’t you?”  
“Levi, what are you talking about?” Levi ignored Hange, he didn’t even seem to hear them. His sentences were disjointed, and he seemed a bit… unhinged. He slammed Rod’s head against the wall behind him.  
“She got sick right after that, interesting coincidence, don’t you think? Her suddenly getting so sick right after you expressed interest in me?” Hope’s heart sank as she connected the dots. The way he’d call for his mother while delirious suddenly took on a different meaning: Levi had watched his mother die. His voice grew louder, “And then she died!” He slammed Rod’s head again, “What were you planning to do, huh? If Kenny… hadn’t found me…” Levi dropped the man and seemed to wilt, his voice growing quiet. “You… You killed her. You killed… my mom. Because you wanted to get to me. You knew even back then who I was.” Levi was tiring rapidly, and Rod took notice. He kicked the injured man away from him, knocking him to the floor, and pulled a gun, pointing it at Levi’s head.   
“Don’t move!” Rod looked at the others, a mad glint in his eye, “You’re right Levi,” he said, (A/N: exposition time!) “I knew you were a member of the Ackerman clan, just like your mother. We’d been keeping an eye on her since she was a child, but then she disappeared. I never expected to find her in the Underground, with a bastard kid, no less. Kuchel was in no shape to become a test subject, and I knew she’d fight like hell if we tried to take you, so I improvised.” Levi’s body was shaking slightly from where he was lying on the floor, “We would have had you then if your uncle hadn’t come along. It was a lucky chance for you that Kenny came looking for his sister when he did. It was thanks to him that we lost sight of you.”   
At this point, Armin had covered his mouth with his hands and Eren had his fists clenched tightly, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. Hope, Ilse and Mikasa wept silently as Hange and Erwin stared daggers at Rod.   
“I’d almost given up on you until you turned up eight years later, leading your merry band of thieves,” Rod continued, “I didn’t care about Isabel and Furlan, though I did feel for you when you were forced to watch them kill each other- but wait,” the man grinned sadistically, “You watched Furlan kill Isabel, but you were the one to put Furlan out of his misery, weren’t you?” Hope had had enough.  
She threw herself forward with a shout, shielding Levi and taking the bullet in her back that was meant for his head. In that moment, Eren and Armin grabbed Rod, covering his mouth, taking the gun and pushing him to the ground. Mikasa stepped forward, about to strike the man, when she was pushed out of the way. Levi had pulled himself out from under Hope and thrown himself at Rod, landing on top of him.  
“This is for Isabel! And Furlan!” Levi screamed at the man underneath him, punctuating each name with a punch to the face, “Daz!” *thwack* “Hannah!” *whack* “Sam! Ruth! Mina and Franz and Thomas and Milieus and Nack! And my mother!” Levi panted, staring at the bloody mass of flesh that had once been Rod Reiss’s face. Steam rose from Levi’s fists as his split knuckles began to heal, tears flowing freely from his eyes.   
“Hope!” Hange’s voice cried out from behind him and Levi looked up in alarm to see Hope, face-down on the floor, in a pool of her own blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Sorry for ending on a cliff-hanger, but I am working on part two. It is slow in coming, but I'll post the chapters that I have.


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